Press.



P; UPHANI.

PRESS.

APPLlcATloN. r|Lo.AuG.2s, 191|.

Patented 0@t. 24,1916.

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P. UPHAIVI.

PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.25. I9II.

Patented Oct. 24, 1916.

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PRESTON UPHAM, or BOSTON, MassAoHpsETTs, assreNon To TNTEBNATIONAL PAVEMENT COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION F CON- NEOTIOUT.

PRESS.

raoaeao.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented (het. 2st, 1916.

Application filed August 25, 1911. Serial No. 646,005.

To all lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that 1, PRESTON UPHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, Suffolk county, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Presses, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying' drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing' like parts.

My invention, one embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and herein described, relates to certain impi'ovements in presses which improvements possess many features of novelty and invention which are useful eithermin combination with each other as disclosed, or as used separately in any type of press.

One of these features is my pressure creating and pressure transmission system.

Another is my improved construction for operating and timing my mold opening, filling, and closing means.

Many other features of novelty will be explained hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1. is a diagrammatic section of one embodiment of a press illustrative of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

1n the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings I prefer that a pulley 1 driven from a belL 2 shall be mounted on a shaft 3. to which is keyed a pinion i, which meshes with a gear 6 keyed on the timing shaft 7 which is preferably mounted in bearings 8 on the base 9 of the press. 1t

will readily be understood that through the above mentioned connections the belt 2 may drive the timing shaft 7 in an anti-clockwise direction.

Keyed on the shaft 7 is a main cam 10 against which runs the roller 11 mounted in the yoke connection 12 which preferably straddles both the cam 10 and the shaft 7. To this yoke connection 12 is preferably attached at one end a piston rod and a piston 14k in a cylinder 15 which is preferably secured to the base 9. To the opposite end of the yoke connection 12 is connected a displacing plunger 1G. which is reciprocable inl a hydraulic cylinder 17 having a ram 18'.

1n the hydraulic cylinder between the ram 18 and the displacing plunger 16 l prefer to provide a body of liquid which in the normal operation of the press is of substantiallv fixed quantity and constant volume.

1t will .readily be understood that if steam be admitted to the end 19 of the cylinder 15 and if the shaft 7 be revolved as heretofore explained the displacingplunger 1G will be caused to reciprocate in the hydraulic cylin der 1r, being actuated on its displacing stroke by the elastic fluid in the steam cylinder l and being actuated on its return stroke by the cam 10. lt will also be noted that the speed at which the elastic fluid moves the displacing plunger 16 will be controlled by the shape of the cam 10.

As the displacingl plunger 16 makes its inward or displacingstroke the liquid in the cylinder 17 will force the ram 18 upward thus causing pressure to be applied to material in a mold to be hereinafter described. By thus actuating the displacing plunger by a yielding actuator on its compressing stroke 1 am enabled to provide a varying travel to-the displacing plunger 16;for if a predetermined resistance be opposed to upward movement ofthe ram 18, the pressure imparted to the displacing plunger will be balanced and the plunger 18 will be stopped on its displacing stroke. It will thus be noted that the actuator for displacing means is compensative, that is, compensates for any discrepancy between the maximum stroke attainable when little or no resistance is encountered and the much shorter stroke attainable when a normal or abnormally great resistance is encountered. A great difliculty that has been experienced heretofore in utilizing an elastic fluid to actuate the displacing plunger of similar presses has been to control the displacing plunger. 1f little or no resistance be encountered on the displacing stroke the elastic Huid is likely to cause the piston and displacing plunger to move with abnormal speed and so cause damage to the press. 1n the press illustrated however, the speed at which the displacing plunger makes its displacing stroke is positively determined by the positive speed limiting means herein typeiied by the cam 10. The return stroke of the displacing plunger is preferably actuated by positive means herein shown as the cam acting on the roller 11 against the pressure of the steam in the cylinder 15. I prefer however to provide the cylinder with a valve so that steam may be admitted only when the displacing plunger 16 is to make its compressing stroke and so that at other times little or nopressure may pretain the roller against thisv cam I prefer to provide a spring 28. The hereinbefore described compressing instruinentalities preferably coperate with molding, mold opening and closing, and material handling instrumentalities of which a preferred construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. For the purposes of such of the claims as are directed more specifically to the pressure mechanism it is immaterial how thel opening and closing of the mold is accomplished, whether by movement of the mold or the mold cover or both.

As illustrated I prefer to provide a pedestal 29 for a vertical column 30 provided with -a collar 31 onwhich is mounted a rotatable mold carrier 32 provided with a pluralityT of lmolds herein shown at 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38,

inafter described, the mold plungers will be brought successively above the ram- 18 so that the latter may apply pressure to the mold plunger-s 41. VAbove the ram 18 I prefer' to provide an unyielding abutment 42. As herein shown this unyielding abutment 42 is supported by the pressure receiving column 43 and the moldcarrier supporting column 30 and is held in position against movement by the pressure from the ram 18 by nuts 44 and 45 on the columns 43 and 30 respectively. The mold carrier 32 (F ig. 2) revolves intermittently in a clockwise direction preferably making as many stops during one revolution as there are molds therein contained. To fill the molds I prefer to provide above the molds iny position 35 a vertical neck 41a having a hopper 41b which may be filled with uncompressed material of a granular nature such as crushed stone coated with as'phaltic cement for the manufacture ofasphalt paving blocks. After the material has been compressed in the mold in i posit-ion 36 I prefer to provide block ejectingv and removing means which may be positioned adjacent the mold in position 37.

YAs illustratedin the drawings (Fig. 2) I prefer to lsupply elastic Huid actuated block "egecting means including the steam cylinder 4(3,fproi-.iided with a piston 47 a piston rod 48 connected by a connecting rod 49 to one arm of abell crank 50, the other arm of which is beneath the lnold plunger of the mold 37. Any suitable valve mechanism as shown at 51 operated by any suitable cam on the timing shaft 7 may time the operation of this form of ejecting mechanism. To cause the intermittent rotation of the mold table I prefer to supply a yielding actuator cooperating with positive speed determining means.

As illustrated I prefer to provide a centering arm 52 provided with a catch 53 the latter preferably engaging notches 54 in the periphery of the mold carrier. The catch 53 thus constitutes one form of mold carrier engaging means. Connected to this centering arm 52 by a connecting rod 54 is a piston rod 55 having a piston 5G reciprocable in any suitable steam cylinder 57. I also prefer to provide a centering arm 52 with a roller 58, ruiming against the periphery of a suitable speed determining cam 59 keyed `on a. vertical shaft 60 driven through bevel gears 61 and 62 from the timing shaft 7. The vertical shaft 60 Fig. 2) revolves in a clockwise direction. The cam 59 acts as a speed determining memlber when the table is being moved by the yielding actuator and valso as a means of returning the centering arm 52 and the piston 5G after the mold table has completed one step by step movement.

In order that the cam 59 may not be unduly taxed in returning the centering arm and connections against the pressure of the elastic fluid in the cylinder 57 I may provide valve mechanism including a slide valve 64 in any suitable valve chest 65, the former preferably being operated by a suitable timing camI on the timing shaft 7. I prefer to provide the exhaust from this valve mechanism with a safety valve 6G so that at all times a minimum pressure may be retained in the working end of the cylinder 57. To compensate for anyleakage from the hydraulic cylinder 17 I preferably provide a replenishing pump 67 which may be normally operable by the press attendant.

The operation of the press illustrated is as follows: In the position shown in the drawings the mold carrier has just completed a movement. As the timing shaft 7 revolves in a contra-clockwise direction the roller 26 enters the depression of the cam 27. This moves the slide valve 20 to the left and permits steam to enter the cylinder 15. The roller. 11 then starts down the incline of the cam 10 being actuated by the steam in the cylinder 15. The rate of revolution of the shaft 7 however determines the speed at which the piston 14 may be moved. This movement of the piston 14 causes the displacing plunger 16 to be forced into the chamber of the hydraulic cylinder 17, thus displacing liquid and causing the rain 18 to rise, compressing the material in the mold losv Q6. `While this takes place the mold carrier 3:2 is stationary because the cam 59 is returning the centering arm 52 and its connections preparatory to the next movement of the mold carrier. During this same period of rest of the mold carrier steam is admitted by the valve mechanism 51 to the cylinder' 46. This causes the bell crank 50 to swing and elevates the plunger in the mold 37 thus ejecting the completed block from the mold. The arm 68 then sweeps the completed block from the mold carrier onto a plate 69 and thence onto any suitable conveyer belt (not shown) which carries the block through a water bath to cool and set. l prefer to actuate this sweep arm 68 from the centering arm 52 by a telescopic connection 69. During the same period of rest the mold 35 is iilled by gravity from the neck above it. When the ram 18 has encountered sufficient resistance to balance the pressure of the steam in cylinder 15, which l prefer shall take place shortly before the. roller 11 has reached the lowest point in the cam 10, the displacing plunger will remain substantially stationary but still applying a predetermined pressure until the cam 27 moves the slide valve 20 to the right shutting off the steam in the cylinder 15. rThis period of constant pressure 1 prefer to term the dwell. After the steam is exhausted from the cylinder 15, as before described, the cam 10 will again engage the roller 11 and will move the displacing plunger and its connected parts to the right so causing the ram 1S to descend. By this time the cam 59 will have moved the centering arm to the left so that the catch 53 will engage the notch 54. Steam is now admitted by the slide valve 64 to the working end of the mold carrier operating cylinder 57 which will move to the right as fast as is permitted by the cam 59. The catch 53 being entered into the notch 54 the mold carrier will be turned moving the empty mold 34 into filling position 35, moving the filled mold 35 into compressing position and moving the mold 36 with its compressed block therein into mold emptying and block removing position 37. This completes one complete cycle of operation of the press and brings it into position to begin another such cycle. rihe compressing instrumentalities hereinbefore described possess many advantages over those heretofore known in the art. Of these advantages one of the greatest is that the liquid in the chamber 17 is maintained fixed in quantity thus obviating the passage of the liquid through ports of any description and so promoting speed and durability of the. press. Another advantage cooperating with this is that a compensative prime mover for the displacing means is provided, which while fluid actuated, is controlled by positive speed determining means on its compressive stroke; Great economy of power is assured by returning the displacing means by mechanical instead of fiuid pressure means for the area of the steam cylinder is necessarily great and if steam is utilized to return the displacing means on its non-compressing stroke, waste is occasioned and damage is likely to occur. llhe fixed abutment above the mold table promotes simplicity of construction and speed of operation while the mold carrier operating means being fluid actuated can cause no damage if an obstruction to rotation thereof be encountered. The mold carrier operating means also promotes speed of operation without dangerous momentum of fast moving parts because its speed of movement is always determined by positive means without the trouble which attends the use of a positive actuator for such instrumentalities.

While i have shown an improvement in mold operating mechanisms, such improvement is not claimed in this application but is claimed in my copending, divisional application Serial No. 114,711, filed August 14, 1916.

Vilhile l. have shown a preferred construction of press in the drawings and have described this preferred construction, my invention is not limited to such description or operation but may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit thereof.

What I desire to secure by Letters Patent is best described in the subjoined claims.

Claims:

l. A block-forming press comprising in combination a mold; means to open and close said mold; a fluid actuated memberl to impart pressure to the contents of said mold; positively actuated means to move said member on its noncompressing stroke and automatic timing means to time the relative operation of said means to open and close said mold and said fluid actuated member.

2. A block-forming press comprising in combination a mold; mea ns to open and close said mold; a fluid actuated member to impart pressure to the contents of said mold;

and positively actuated means to move said member on its noncoinpressing stroke.

3. A block-forming press comprising in combination a mold; means to open and close said mold; an elastic fluid actuated member to impart pressure to the contents of said mold; positively actuated means to move said member on its noncompressing stroke and automatic timing means to time the relative operation of said means to open and close said mold and said elastic fiuid actuated member.

4. A blocleforming press comprising in combination a mold; means to open and close said mold; a yieldingly actuated compressing member and positive speed controlling means to control the speed of movement of said compressing member on its compressing stroke.

A block-forming press comprising in rcombination a mold; means to open and close said mold; a yieldingly actuated com` pressing member and positive speed controlling means to control the speed oimovement of said compressing member on its lcom "Jressin' stroke and automatic timinO 2 3 relative operation of said actuator and said mold opening andy closing means.

7. A block-forming hydraulic press comprising in combination a mold; mold opening and closing means; a compressing` ram; a variablev stroke displacingplunger; pressure transmission multiplying liquid operatively interposed between said ram and said displacing plunger; positivo displacing ilunger retracting means; and automatic timing means to time the relative operation of said actuator and said mold opening and closing means.

8. A block-'forming hydraulic press comprising in combination a mold; mold opening and closing means; a compressing' ram; a displacing plunger; pressure transmission and multiplying liquid operatively interposed between said ram and said displacing plunger; a. yielding actuator for said displacing plunger positive displacing` plunger retracting means; and automatic timing means to time the relative ope ation of said actuator and said mold opening and closing means.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciiication, in the presence of' two subscribing witnesses.

PRESTON UPI-IAM.

'Vitnesses )ronna'r H. KAMMLER, F. IRENE CHANDLER.

" Copies of this patent :nay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

` Washington, D. C. 

